old habits die hard
by paigestoakes
Summary: katniss everdeen is in her early twenties and trying to get over her friend gales undeniable feelings for her. after leaving Bosten behind and moving to new york she' find someone interesting alone the way
1. Chapter 1

katniss everdeen is in her early twenties and trying to get over her friend gales undeniable feelings for her. after leaving Bosten behind and moving to new-

york she seeks shelter in a near by coffee shop from the rain and stumbles into a old friend from school .peeta mellark. after catching up katniss needs

to decide if she is going to open up and accept her new and old feelings for peeta or just ignore the feelings and leave the little coffee shop behind where it

all started..….

walking down the road,rain pelting hard against my forehead, i decide that i don't really want to go home and feel the wrath of my roomate

and best friend madge undersee. i make a quick left turn and decide that this shop is fine to spend a couple of hours in way from madge and the rain.

i am too busy cringing at the thought of the talk madge is going to give me when i get back to the apartment that i don't notice that i have made my way towards the counter. the sight in front of me makes me nearly fall over with shock.

in front of me is Peeta Mellark. the old nerd and best friend of my highschool years.

i am too shocked to speak at the sight of him, he just left so suddenly all those years that i just accepted that i would never see the boy i thought i loved ever again. Everyone said that his mum had beat him so hard that he had died, i wince as i recall those memories of sitting in maths next to a empty seat….

"hello welcome to the coffee bean, what would you like today?" his voice pulls me out of the trance i was pulled into after recalling all of those memories . my eyes well with tears just at the sweet sound of his voice that is have missed all these years. hes looking down so he doesn't know it is me his old best friend infront of him.

he turns around and i notice that he isn't the scranny little boy he was in 5th grade,his broad shoulders from years of working in his dads bakery have paid off , he muscly arms and forearms strain through his white cotton shirt. just that sight makes me flush and feel weak in the knees. he still has the messy mop of unruly blonde hair that leaves a light blonde trail down the nape of his neck and below his shirt. i stand there and wonder whats below that cotton shit because so far of what i've seen i have to say , i am pretty impressed. i only realise i am staring at him when a small pool of drool forms on the counter. blushing bright red i hastily wipe the drool from my lip and the counter with the edge of my leather jacket and continue to drink in the image of him as if i had just walked through the sahara desert. my eyes wander lower to the small of his back and i make a mental note that his jeans fit him snuggly. i will my eyes to move upwards and suddenly i am meet with shocking blue orbs that stare into my soul like they always did. my mouth is flapping open and closed, to happy to form any words'

"katniss?…" he seems shocked to say the least but his eyes never move away from mine. blue on gray.

"yes Peeta it me. what are you doing in new york?" then my brain screams at me to ask him the all important question" AND WHY THE HELL DID YOU DISAPPEAR!" i only realise that i yelled the last part when everyone behind the counter leave through a door which i suspect leads to a storage room of some sort. its now just me and him.

"katniss…. im sorry i cant talk right now" he manages to stammer out and eventually after saying that he pulls his eyes away from mine . i wish he hadn't .

"im sorry for yelling its just you know … you disappear for years and then i find you in a coffee shop in new york when we used to live in bosten! its just a bit to much to take in. could we sit down and talk ?"

he pauses for about a minuet before he walks to the storage room holding up on finger to signal he'd be one minuet. i wait patiently for him to return.

a couple of minuets pass when i hear yelling from behind the door to the storage room, after what has happened to peeta multiple times across our old friendship i react on instinct and jump over the counter and swing open the door


	2. Chapter 2

the sight infront of me makes me want to vomit up the turkey sandwich i had earlier. before me stands peeta with his mother holding him in a headlock. i vagily remember when it was me in peetas situation when i came round his families house last summer. long story. finally my brain catches up with the current situation and i let out a air piercing scream. Peetas mother looks up, and peetas eyes trail from the floor to my face. his face is going from extreme red too fainted purple. i had too help him, FAST! the old hag known as his mother drops him and he falls to the floor clutching his sides, weezing for breath. i go over to help him when his mother makes a growling sounds in the back of her throat. it confuses me , making me drop my guard. shes about to spring at me , bearing her polished fake red claws, when peeta jumps up and blocks her attack with his tanned fore-arm.

"DONT YOU DARE TOUCH KATNISS!" peeta yelled , it echoed around the storage room so it sounded like there were 10 of him.

"oh what , that little whore doesnt deserve to know you even if your not that much better" she screeched back in her rusty voice. it sent a chill down my spine. a loud arguement starts and when his mother takes steps forward peeta , with me behind him, starts making steps backwards towards the door. shes about to pounce again when peeta opens the door and shoves me outside. i hear the faint sound of tumblers clicking together . he locked the door! for the next ten mineuts all you can hear is the slapping from the other side of the door and my fists pounding on the heavy oak everything is quiet. you hear a door slam in the background and faint weeping. with my face to the door, i hault my fists on the door as silent sobs wrack my body, tears leak out of my eyes like a leaky tap. im so caught up in thought that i dont hear the tumbers un-clicking . suddenly i am falling into the arms of peeta. he strechtes me out at arms length, inspecting me making sure his mother didnt scratch me with her bitch claws. when im done reasurring him im fine , his arms fall to his sides.

he takes tiny steps back until he hits the door and slides down. he pulls his legs up too his chest and hides his head in the gap in- between. i walk over and try talking to him" Peeta , its just me, katniss and im really sorr-" i get cut off when he drops his arms from around his legs, letting them drop to the floor, and grabs me pulling me onto his lap. afterwards he re-closes his hands around my waist and places his head on top of mine. i clasp my hands around his neck and relax on is body. its been ages and i still love him. i never got to find out if he liked me , so im gonna try now.

i lift my head up to face him and stare into his eyes, there slightly watery but other wise youd have no clue anything happened.

"peet-" i get cut off again but this time its not by his arms but its by his... LIPS!


	3. Chapter 3

The kiss we shared was brief but it made all the feelings come rushing back. i kept my eyes closed after peeta pulled his lips away from mine.

"I just had to know how that felt.." he whispers. my mind is racing with a million questions at once but one thing thats popping up is the black dress sitting in my wardrobe. It felt wrong to me to be enjoying my life when my younger sister Prim died only a week ago. i remember the day she died as if it was yesterday, walking straight past the crash scene as if it was normal. she died all because some middle age woman HAD to send a text to her friend. angry tears started to well in my eyes . i hid my head into peetas chest even more so he wouldnt notice the small puddle forming on the front of his shirt. after ten minuets of trying to keep my sobs in i couldnt take it anymore, the sobs had me heaving for air in peetas arms. the whole time Peeta just held me tighter and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

When i had calmed down enough to form words, peeta asked me why i started to randomly cry. i explained to whole ,tragic story of the short life of my baby sister prim. the whole time try to keep the tears that were threatening to overflow. When i was done telling the story, I Iooked up into Peetas eyes and saw they were glistening with unshed tears. He remembered prim and everything about her in five seconds, making him squeeze his arms tighter around me.

"kat, i had no idea. im soo sorry that i wasnt there for you" he says with the most hurt look on his face

"its ok, i just dont know how im going to make the funeral"

"i can go if you want. i want to say goodbye as well."

"ok " i grab a pen out of my pocket and take his arm in my hand. i scribble my number down in record time and give him his hand back whilst re-capping my pen.

"ring me for details"

i spring up from peetas lap after getting his number and making him tell me his new address . i was sighing in relief when he reassured me he didnt live with his mother anymore.i offer him my hand, which he accepts gratefully. i place my hand on the cold brass door nob, ready too part ways with peeta until the funeral when he strides over from his place on the other side of the room and captures my lips in another breath taking kiss. i go to deepen it when he pulls looks at the shocked look on my face with a smirk" go katniss or you'll never leave"

i give him another short kiss and open the door , stepping out and closing it silently behind me. the rain has stopped it relent outside so now i just need to go and face madge. for once in my life , something is looking up.


	4. Chapter 4

**hi guys so this is my first authors note and i just like to say that im sorry for the chapters being short but im having writers block and its kinda difficult. i know the rating is M but i might just change it , or keep it the same because there might be swearing. ill figure it out later . anyway, on with the story...**

as soon as my key turned in the deadbolt Madge was right in my face , blowing up like a time bomb.

"DO YOU THINK THATS THE RIGHT WAY TO GRIEF?!"

"YEAH WELL LAST TIME I CHECKED IT WASNT _YOUR _FUCKING BABY SISTER WHO GOT KILLED ONLY A WEEK AGO WAS IT!" Madge and i both froze as soon as those words slipped out of my mouth.

"madge... i.."

"its fine , i was being careless. i know how close you and Prim were." she steps closer and embraces me in a bone crunching hug. and because of my good mood of seeing Peeta, i actually hug her back.

"ok so your hugging me back for a change and you cant wipe that huge grin off your face what happened today?" i decide to tell her , i cant keep secrets from madge. i grab her hand and pull her to the couch and lean on the soft cusions. she stares at me intently whilst i tell my story. at the end her eyes are wide, glossed over like they always do when she happy, and her jaw slack.

"a-and he just k-kissed you?!"

" . and he's coming to the funeral. " i pause slightly , wondering wether to tell madge about my guilty feelings." When i was with peeta, i got the guiltiest feeling because i just kept thinking ' Prim will never get this' oh god it was horrible"

"i just feel so sorry for Rory, only a month away from their wedding as well. i still haven't heard from Gale..." Rory and Gale , there brothers and Prim and Rory had been going out since they were 14 , they were going to get married in a months time but prim died in the car accident. when Rory found out.. he couldnt take it. they found his body in the river by the side of his and prims house. When Gale found out , he ran into the woods like he always does and hasn't been out in a week.

Madge and Gale have always had sexual tension but they wouldn't admit it, though everyone knew. they flirted around each other constantly and i think , THINK, they have a friends with benefits relationship . but i REALLY dont want to know.

Madge stares into space and i know her thoughts are on Gale.

"he will come back , dont worry he knows the woods like the back of his hand." i reassure her , and my self but i dont say that.

"I dont know kat , hes never been gone this long, ever"

i stand up and stretch my aching bones.

"dont worry about it , sleep on it if you want. im going to go to bed anyway i have some stuff i need to get finished for the funeral"

"katniss.." madge says quietly. i turn around to face her" getting drunk when you found out about prim wasnt the best idea was it.

"strange as this might sound, getting drunk and staying out all night , it all lead me too peeta.." she doesnt say anything when i walk down the dark corridor to my empty room. i flop on the bed and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillows.


	5. Chapter 5

**hi guys please dont kill me for the long update gap, i have some ideas for this story and its going to progress quick-ish but not too fast. there will be some lemon sent but im not going into details and its going to skip to the end or the morning after. sorry if you find it kinda strange but its only a story dont like it dont read**

**anyway on with the story...**

i wake up , a thin layer of sweat coating my body and screaming with my now horse voice. i am really surprised i had a nightmare , i haven't had one since i was 12. my next surprise scared the shit out of me. i acknowlage the sounds of someones soft breathing coming from my right. i move swiftly through the dark and tackle the shadow sitting im my leather desk chair.

"ooff"

"who are you and what do you want ?!" i whisper-yell in the persons face.

"kat, its just me peeta!" i scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, what is peeta doing her at - i glance at the digital alarm clock on my nightstand , it reads 3:30 - 3:30 in the morning ?

"ok not to be weird , but what are you doing here at 3:30 in the morning watching me sleep?" i ask , slowly raising my left eyebrow.

Peeta sits up , with me still straddling his lap, and rubs the back of his neck nervously." um well i rung up and madge answered , we talked for almost 2 hours and in the end i asked for your address. i asked if i could come to see you but she said you were in bed but i could come round anyway. i came over and she said to go to your room and you'd wake up soon enough"

i glance up from his lips to his eyes and see truth in them.

"Kat?"

"mmhm?"

"i can see you staring at my lips..." my face turns fire truck red and my mouths continuously flaps open and closed, trying to search for the words.

"well... why dont you do something about it?" i have no idea were the sudden serge of courage came from but it worked. he leans forward and i meet him halfway , locking my hands around the back of his neck. he easily picks me up , is lips still on mine, and walks to the bed.

**[this is the lemon but im skipping to the end of it]**

i collapse onto peeta , sweaty but happy, and almost instantly fall asleep. i glance up at peeta and see that he has a childish grin on his face.

"kat?"

"mmm"i reply , too tired to find my own voice

"does this mean were a couple?" i pause and think over his words. its silent for several moments, no sound being made from either of us . the darkness carries my voice around the room , echoing the faint yes that escaped my lips

**sorry its short and on a kinda cliff hanger but i wanted to make the ending mysterious but not too cliff hanger-like . ill try and update soon as possible . rate and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**hi guys , you should be proud of me i didnt leave too long a update gap so its all good. i changed the name and the summary because i changed the initial idea and plot line of the story. i dont know wether to carry this on into a long story were they grow up or something or leave it here. tell me what i should do guys!**

**anyway on with the story...**

ever since i woke up with peeta wrapped up around me , i started to think life was FINALLY getting better. that i could live in this unbreakable bubble of happiness with peeta and ignore reality. but no and when reality comes back , it comes back hard and with a crash. i slowly untangle myself from peeta and grab his shirt of the floor. i slip it over my head and make my way into the kitchen, following the smell of bacon and eggs. when i enter the kitchen i expect to see madge hovering over the stove but instead i see gale! instead of making a giant scene - which i _know_ gale will hate- i go over to the plate pilled high with bacon and steal three streaks and start picking the fat off.

" you guys need to learn to be quiet" gale says quietly his attention still completley on the pan infront of him. normally my face would burn bright red with shame but i mean , come on , this is only gale. instead i work up a witty remark

" well so do you and madge then" his hand freezes mid-air, still holding the spatular with a deathly grip

"shut it _, Catnip_" that sonofanbitch! he knows i hate that name! i narrow my eyes in responce and eat the now de-fatted bacon.

after sitting there for five mineuts in a comfortable silence, gale cooking and me eating, i decide to go back to my room. no particualar reason i just... ok i want to see peeta. when i walk into my room , the sight before me makes my heart cripple in pain. peeta , covered in a light sheen of sweat, is moving around around my bed tangled in the sheets and mumbling things like " dont take her... leave katniss" i slowly walk over to him and whisper in his ear. " im here Peeta , im here. wake up" his eyes snap open, a manic shine to them that makes me double take but its gone as quickly as it was there. he see's me and bundles me up in his arms , crushing me in a hug.

" your okay, your ... here" he whispers in my ear. instead of questioning this i just decide to play it safe and state the obvious.

"nightmare?" i say in a dead-pan tone

"nightmare" he replies in the same tone.

"want to talk about it ?" i ask but i can see he's already sniffing the air at the smell of bacon.

"oooohh food"

"you might want to get some clothes on before you untangle yourself from my sheets" he looks down at the sheets whilst a light blush spreads from his neck upwards.

" youve stolen my shirt though" he states in a acusing tone

"just put these on" i throw a pair of mens flannel pajama pants at him. he's lucky there my special pajama pants , no-one wears them. i wouldnt even let prim wear them.

a little while later me , Madge , Gale and peeta are all sitting around the dining room table chewing bacon and slurping orange juice. peeta and gale are catching up from high - school and me and madge are just staring into space , absentmindedley eating the last of the bacon . not saving any for anyone. we've never been good with words. peeta laughs at a memory being told and glances over at me. his eyes find mine and were locked like that for ages. im getting lost in the never ending blue orbs again. if only i had known that , those orbs could be a blessing and a curse.


End file.
